positive Scl-70 test

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Hi there. My name is James, 33, from Preston. A few months back I visited a neurologist as I had tingling in feet and then hands. Since then I have started having muscle twitches all over my body with varying degrees of muscle cramps throughout my body. In addition, I also have difficulty swallowing. I am therefore fearful of motor neurone disease given these symptoms. When I saw the neurologist I only had tingling and his assessment was no neurological cause following clinical observation and an MRI of head and neck. However, of all the tests I had done the only posjtive was Scl-70 which my return letter from the neuro said there was no evidence of scleroderma.

I am at a loss and naturally worried about my failing health. Can anyone advise re: scleroderma possibilities?

Scleroderma is a very complex disease, which manifests itself in many different ways. However, just because your blood tests are positive, it doesn't mean that you will necessarily contract the full blown disease. It's also perfectly possible to have negative blood tests and yet go on to develop scleroderma. A correct diagnosis should always be made on the clinical symptoms and the results of any other tests, rather than just on the blood work alone, which although a useful diagnostic tool, is by no means the be all and end all.

So it's likely that your neurologist was correct when he stated that at this time there was no evidence of scleroderma. I'm afraid it's impossible to predict the course of the disease, as it affects all sufferers differently, so it's quite possible that you may never develop any further symptoms.

I would suggest that you monitor any further health problems and should they worsen then perhaps you could seek a referral to a Scleroderma expert, as the disease does need to be dealt with by a rheumatologist with specialist knowledge and expertise.

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Welcome! Unfortunately there's no one diagnostic test for scleroderma, diagnosis is symptom based or rather should be. As well as being able to have a positive SCL-70 and no scleroderma, it's also possible to have scleroderma and a negative SCL-70 which is me!

Try to walk the line between keeping an eye on symptoms and not becoming obsessed about something that might never happened.